The Top 10 Fiction Books for Non-Fiction Addicts

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For a mere 20 years or so, I refused to read fiction. Read something that someone just made up? I can do that myself, thanks.

That was the attitude at least.

My time of reckoning came when I needed to fix insomnia, and non-fiction business books before bed just compounded the problem. I began reading fiction to “turn off” and instead saw breakthroughs in creativity and quality of life as a side-effect.

Now, if people ask me, for instance, “Which books should I read on leadership?”, I might reply: “Dune and Ender’s Game.” I’ve come to look for practical solutions in both fiction and non-fiction.

For those of you who are stuck in the business or how-to sections, as I was for decades, I offer you 10 fiction books that might change how you view the world… and how you perform.

The Top 10

I have recommended this outstanding book before. It pits the instinctive against the intellectual, the simpleton (brilliant at times) against the over-thinker. Finding myself with my head frequently stuck up my own ass, this book is a constant companion and reminder to step outside of my brain.

Zorba himself would have you believe that words are wasteful and books a frivolous use of time (better spent dancing barefoot on the beach), but Zorba the Greek is stuffed like a grape leaf full of life-altering wisdom. For those looking to release the inner wild man, live each day in passionate awe, and reconnect with nature, Zorba reminds us how to live fully, love lasciviously and appreciate a life in the present tense.

I bought this book at Kinokuniya bookstore in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It is as thick as a Harry Potter book, probably thicker, but the pages are as thin as onion skin. It’s a serious tome. I never expected to finish it, and I tore through it in less than two weeks.

If you’re like me and enjoy a good Samurai story – the wandering ronin, epic battle scenes with lots of penetrating (wisdom), then you’ll love Eiji Yoshikawa’s Musashi. It’s sold more than 100 million copies in Japanese. Musashi’s transformation from talented yet conflicted young warrior to one of the greatest (perhaps the greatest) swordsman of all time teaches you about critical thinking, strategizing, and ultimately, that there is more to life than merely surviving. Musashi re-created himself from nothing and rose from destitution to legend.

Then you can probably relate to human-born and Martian-raised Valentine Michael Smith. In this controversial 1960’s cult classic, Heinlein questions long held assumptions on religion, government, and sexuality (free Martian love for all!).

At one point, this was the only book listed on Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page. If it’s good enough to be the sole selection of the founder of Facebook, maybe there’s something to it.

The plot: In anticipation of another attack from a hostile alien race, the search for a brilliant military strategist has led to Ender Wiggin.

In space combat school, Ender stands out, demonstrating exceptional leadership and unconventional strategy. But it is lonely at the top for Ender, as he struggles with relentless pressure from his instructors. Through Ender’s journey, you’ll learn how to capitalize on your strengths and those of your teammates, as well as exploit your adversaries’ weaknesses. Ender is a futuristic Level 5 Leader we can all learn from.

To check the power of a fast-rising duke, a space emperor executes a convoluted plan to gain control of the all-important planet that has a monopoly of The Spice (a super drug-cum-jet fuel). But wait! The duke’s son is actually the messianic result of a breeding program run by space witches. Oh, and the Mentats? The coolest. If that all sounds like gibberish, don’t despair. Dune presents, despite my synopsis, perhaps the most incredibly detailed and oddly believable fictional landscape I’ve ever encountered.

Also, to add to any confusion: walk without rhythm, and you won’t attract the worm.

After his girlfriend leaves him for another man, Rob embarks on a journey of self-discovery and evaluation by contacting ex-girlfriends to see what went wrong in each relationship. High Fidelity teaches us that eventually we all have to grow up, get past adolescent self-importance, and take responsibility for our own lives.

Who says I only like books with killing, aliens, and Greeks? I’m a sensitive guy .

Raised in a culture where men are powerful, sexual, and dominant, the Klingon-speaking, D&D-playing chubby boy thinks he’ll never find true love or physical affection. Oscar struggles as a young immigrant from the Dominican Republic living with his older sister and mother in Paterson, New Jersey. A fun read with lots of geek culture, great history, and oh, it also won the Pulitzer Prize.

This classic work on state censorship remains as relevant in today’s world of digital delights as it was when published in the black-and-white world of 1953.

In a futuristic American city, firefighter Guy Montag does not put out blazes; instead, he extinguishes knowledge and promotes ignorance by conducting state decreed book burnings. After an elderly woman chooses a fiery death with her books rather than a life without the written word, he begins questioning not only his profession, but also a society that allows itself to be lulled into complacency by constant exposure to state-controlled, mind-numbing television shows.

If you wonder why some people take censorship so seriously, this book will give you the answer. It’s also a fantastically inspiring story of a one-versus-a-million fight that’s worth fighting. Who knows when your turn will come?

If Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Star Wars had a love-child, it would read something like this.

This colorful novel by Douglas Adams begins with Arthur Dent narrowly escaping the Earth’s destruction as it is bulldozed to make room for a hyperspace bypass. Beyond the bizarre characters and plot twists, Adams proves that despite how bleak ones situation might be, there’s always something to laugh about. Adam’s Total Perspective Vortex is also considered to be a great Zen teaching tool, so if you’re looking for the meaning of life, you might not be far from the answer here.

If you need humor to make the jump to fiction, this might be your gateway drug.

My mother and brother are, thankfully, book snobs. I mean this in the best way possible. Books take a lot of time, after all, and life is short. So when both my mom and broha simultaneously insisted that I read this book, I had to investigate.

A thriller about a detective with Tourette Syndrome? Sign me up. It’s a hysterical romp through high-stakes problem-solving and old-fashioned crime fighting, all told through deliciously mind-tickling prose. One of my absolute favorites.

Zen school and cop tapping? Check and check.

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Which one fiction book would you choose to convert a non-fiction devotee to the world of imagination?

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as a general rule of thumb science fiction tends to be more of a disguised observation about society then made up plots
for example “war of the worlds” was a description of what imperial colonization must have looked like to the invaded natives of the time
Fantasy fiction is more “excitement” oriented and has less subtext

I felt a chill of realization reading this comment. Thank you for helping this non-fiction addict see why i should give sci-fi a try. Ps: if u want to give a mystery thriller a try, Steven King called Lee Child’s mass-market tough guy/thinking man Jack Reacher “The coolest continuing series character currently on offer” (quote from memory).

We are HOOKED on the Lee child Jack Reacher series. He’s very much more minimalist than we are; it’s good food for thought. Also, Ender’s Game is simply extraodinary, as are most things by Robert Heinlein.

Already read half the list. So I’m in good company. I would maybe have added a Salinger book but this is your list. It may be a good exercise for folks to go through their own top ten in the comments and we can compare notes.

Daves/Davys must think alike. My choice would be another book by Hesse, Narcissus and Goldmund. It’s a story of the tension – and reconciliation – between art and science. The world needs the best of both.

I absolutely LOVED Zorba the Greek- I read it earlier this year when my friend told me that it reminded him of me.

Of all the books I’ve read, that has to be the best one- It sits on my desk and I have a couple go-to pages when I need inspiration. I especially like it when Zorba talks about cutting off his finger because it got in the way! :) So much passion for so many things…

Though this doesn’t directly relate to this post, I’m presently using The Four Hour Body for my body transformation. I’ve never been so consistently eager about eating well and excercising! I must confess to sleeping at odd hours though. :)

I second Atlas Shrugged! My mentor gave it to me to read last summer, very awesome, great character development with many underlying parallels to capitalism and entrepreneurship. Plus the mystery/suspense was fantastic too

If you haven’t already, I would suggest looking at other works of Orson Scott Card such as Ender’s Shadow or Shadow of the Hegemon, which are about the same ordeal, but from another character’s perspective and then the same character’s stunning life after the war.

The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, is also an amazing book about friendship, betrayal, and revenge.

Pirate Latitudes, posthumously published by Michael Crichton, is also very entertaining–something like Pirates of the Caribbean mixed with the Count of Monte Cristo.

That’s a great list, thanks! Thumbs up for Guide to the Galaxy, it is indeed very funny!

I would also recommend The Golden Calf by Ilya Ilf & Evgeny Petrov which is a Russian classic novel about a con man which is hilarious at times but in addition can also teach a couple of things about leadership and meaning of life.
Anyway, I thought that’s not a recommendation you come across very often, so why not to give it a try? However, I’m not sure whether much is lost in translation to English.

Nice serie, will have to delay the 4hourWW re-read again by 10 books right now Tim ;-)

However I personally loved:

1. Shamtaram, a fiction book based on true story, but everything is in India and described so fantastic, it feels like a non-fiction book for everyone from ‘the west’ !!

2. Game of Thrones: the HBO serie is based on a serious great series of books guys!

3. Heroes of Ages (written by Brandon Sanderson): really easy reading, fantasy world with kingdoms, superpowers, heroes and myths. Maybe not the best one ever, but reads like a train, so great for holidays ;-)

I’m a huge sci-fi fan. But people consider that sci-fi equals laser guns and starships. My favorite answer is “I’m reading about psychology, sociology and s.o.”. Dune or Ender’s game are great examples. Or anything from Philip K. Dick (I mean books not action movie versions)

Thank you, Tim. It’s a nice list, good stuff. Would also recommend Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan. It’s a powerful story published in 1994 of a woman’s spiritual odyssey through outback Australia.

After your recommendation I ended up reading Zorba the Greek, while staying on a fantastic beach in Malaysia (Pulau Perhentian), and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I left it behind so someone else could read it…

Mobby Dick, Mellville: you will never learn so detailed about whale hunting, than in this book and get a feeling for the 18th and 19th century

Khaled Hosseini A thousand splendid suns want to learn more about afghan culture and history and about the role of the women combined with a great sad emotional story ? this book is a must have

When Nietsche wept: Great stoy by Erwin D. Yalom combined with Philsophy and Psychoanalysis and The Schopenhauer Cure Gives you great insights in Group Therapy, Philsophy and combined with an emotional great story ( I found the Schopenhauer cure even better)

All Quiet on the Western by Erich Maria Remarque: it chronicles the war life of a German soldier, and shows the dirt the war and you get a good and depressing feeling for the horrors of world war 1

And an other greeting from the last century Robert Antwon Wilson, Masks of the Illuminati : Before you but Den Brown on the List you should first consider Robert Anton Wilson. This is one of his more “conservative” books which covers peotry, quantum physics, psychology and occult spooky stuff combined with a gread story and a good portion of conspiracy theories. And all in a fiction novel.

Great list Tim; I just finished reading Ender’s Game and Hitchikers Guide recently, absolutely loved both of these books. I’m in the middle of Stranger in a Strange Land and it is an interesting story!

Of all the authors I’ve read though, I’ve found Neal Asher to be absolutely unbeatable for keeping me interested, especially in his book “The Skinner”. It was hard to put down and did a great job of removing me from reality for a while.

I’ve also just noticed Tim that your Copywright in the footer of your site is for 2010! You might want to look into inserting a code to make it automatic? Something like this should do the trick:

Technically fiction even though it’s a teaching novel, MY ISHMAEL by Daniel Quinn not only explains how to get out of our culture’s perceptual matrix, but demonstrates its point through a metanarrative that was clearly the inspiration for both the films HAPPY FEET and INCEPTION.

Selected by a panell including Ray Bradbury*, Quinn’s breakout novel ISHMAEL — which shares an uncanny number of basic plot-points with THE MATRIX** — won the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship: a half-million dollars that representing the largest single award ever given a work of fiction.

Since Tim asked, I personally highly recommend both (and am very grateful for the book and the materials on this site).

George RR Martin’s all encompassing and genre breaking ‘A Song Of Ice And Fire’

5 volumes so far of this Machiavellian fantasy about the attempts of several disparate and realistic familial tribes attempting to regain power over the outpost of Westeros all while an ancient threat of the Others is returning and the years long devastation of Winter looms on the horizon.

Choose your favorite characters carefully for as in life all is subject to change!

And do not let the fact that this is now and ongoing HBO project put you off … there is a myriad of shade in the written word.

The Cycle of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin. Full of “knowledge is power” lessons, wrapped up in a beautiful story about a talented young wizard who gets the yips after trying to show off and screwing up big time. He ends up becoming the greatest archmage of all time, righting wrongs as he sails around the world in his trusty boat.

The Earthsea trilogy story is one of my favorites and it was the first I read among the fantasy genre.

Even though the book is classified as a “young adult” book, I believe it is suitable for adults The book came to life for me and the magic felt so real, I still have the story in my mind after all these years.

Favorite parts I can recall; when Jed is harnessing the power of the winds and then when he is learning about the power of names.

I’m also more of a non-fiction guy and get irritated with fiction books quickly. Anna Karenina by Tolstoy and Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky is absolutely amazing though. I probably learned more about human emotion from them than in any of the many psychology books I’ve read over the years.

If you enjoyed “A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”, then you’ll enjoy the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. The humor is very similar, but transposed on a fantasy world than sci-fi. There are dozens of them, but “Thief of Time” is my hands-down favorite. Highly recommended.

Thanks for sharing your world. I saw Anthony Quinn as Zorba and loved the movie. Now I am going to read the book!
As a French, I would like to add up to the list Proust’s Swann which is a great contemplative work. But we may not have the same tastes :)
Cheers

I’ve converted a few friends with Haruki Murakami’s works – Wild Sheep Chase will blow minds with its imagination and Sputnik Sweetheart is a more vanilla option.

Lamb by Christopher Moore is a hilarious imagining of the life of Jesus, filling in that little gap between childhood and thirties when the bible picks up the action. Its blasphemous and yet theological sound.

Impossible to look past Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five – fact, fiction and vivid imagination collide in a brilliant look at the horrors of war with healthy doses of comedy and science fiction.

I have read 4 of the 10 so I will add the others to my reading list. I am a scifi addict however in recent years I have added some other things to the list. There are lots of straight science books, We need to talk about Kelvin by Marcus Chown which are extremely readable but let’s stick to fiction.

I read to move my mind from work, which is all interacting with people, planning and organising, to another place and force myself to think of other things.

To sleep I do the modern equivalent of counting sheep – prime numbers or prime number multiplication tables. However there is a British sleep expert who says count waterfalls – it depends on the kind of brain you have counting waterfalls works for some people – decorating waterfalls works for others.

Peter F. Hamilton – The Commonwealth Saga is published in two halves, Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained. Gripping complex and intense. A view of advanced worlds.

Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle – The Mote in God’s Eye and there are more in the series. A view of aliens and what makes them tick.

Sundiver – the uplift series David Brin Startide Rising won the nebula award. What happens when you take another species on earth and give them a hand.

The White Dragon – Anne McCaffrey also ended up on the best seller list and there is an entire series about the land and its like.

Ursula le Guin writes of worlds that are very different and lives around them. Social comment rather than huge story.

Glory Season – David Brin for a low tech meets high tech society clash. A society bred to be different. Fascinating.

I loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series but the staccato writing style, particularly the first one, gives some people whiplash, or should I say brain lash.

Twilight I have a lot of male friends who really love them too. Stephenie Meyers stories of vampires in a hidden society.

Thanks for the list! I’m going to read them one by one. Also, thanks for saving me from going into the non-fiction or nothing route – so happy I applied your advice when I did. Fiction is great – a lot of time even better than non fiction.

This is off topic – but of interest to me: couples like to share their days events with each other – in detail. What’s been your experience with being on a low-information diet and in a relationship? Any models you set for yourself or each other regarding sharing or listening? I’ve found most information hinders my measurable creative output during the day – I feel my brain short circuits.

Tim, if you’ve not read it, put Armor by John Stakeley on your “to read” list. It is THE most emotionally impacting scifi book I’ve ever read. I’ve never read any other where the first person narrative was so raw as to make you really feel that you are on the ground with the primary character.

I agree with Bill about Murakami. I hadn’t touched fiction since high school, until a friend of mine recommended The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Slaughterhouse 5 by Vonnegut is also one of my favorites.

I’m not trying to get into a political or philosophical discussion with anybody, but one of my favorite pieces of fiction is Atlas Shrugged. Whether you believe in Ayn Rands philosophy or not, it’s a very captivating story of people who follow their passions.

A few more books for the transition from non-fiction. These are skewed to genre side.

“The Last Samurai” by Helen DeWittt (and, no, it’s has nothing to do with the movie). Single, independent, eccentric, brilliant mother raises beyond-brilliant son using the Seven Samurai as her guide to being his “father.”

If you liked “Ender’s Game,” then check out “Old Man’s War” by John Scalzi or “Armor” by John Steakley.

Also “Cryptonomicon” by Neal Stephenson. An alternate history of WWII that explores the nature of information and its ability to liberate or dominate depending on who holds it. The scenes set in the present predicted Wikileaks.

“Hyperion” and “Fall of Hyperion” by Dan Simmons. As long as you’re reading science fiction, read some of the best.

And to echo a previous comment, anything by China Mieville–one of the most-talented writers working today.

No love for Steven Pressfield’s “Gates of Fire”? This is one of the best books I’ve read hands down. It tells the story of the battle of Thermopylae with such gripping detail and from a perspective so perfect it seems it could only have been achieved through fiction. The conversations between Spartan nobles about the nature of war and fear are full of compelling martial philosophy and Pressfield really makes you feel the depths of the Greeks’ struggle the way he presents everyday life in that epoch. Great historical fiction.

Pressfield’s “The Afghan Campaign”, set during Alexander the Great’s Invasion of Afghanistan, is also very good.

“A Soldier of the Great War” by Mark Helprin (not the conservative commentator, a different guy) is one of the best novels I’ve read. It has warfare, mountaineering, romance, and art appreciation, plus some pretty funny bits. His “Memoir from Antproof Case” is also very good.

Virtually anything written by Kim Stanley Robinson – The Mars Trilogy is great, as is his Science in the Capitol series – “Forty Signs of Rain”, “Fifty Degrees Below”, and “Sixty Days and Counting”. Also the Three Californias Trilogy.

I’m a non-fiction addict, so cool idea for the list. The one book that needs to be on here is Gates of Fire. I’ve read 4 or 5 of the 10 listed here, and Gates of Fire trumps all of them. It’s amazing and the best non-fiction book I’ve ever read.

Terrific list… and I totally agree that fiction makes the best sedative… although with some of these books i think i end up LOSING sleep. Anywho, i’ve already wish-listed about 6 of them that i haven’t read, so thanks!

eric

P.S. Anyone who is roughly in our age bracket MUST read “READY PLAYER ONE” by Ernest Cline. Rated one of amazon’s best books of 2011, it’s a total tribute to video games and the 80’s. YOU WILL LIKE IT, Trust me!

Have read most of these and agree. Also a big fan of the Speaker for the Dead – second book in Ender series. I still like The Fountainhead and Robert Sawyer’s WWW Trilogy is a fun read with some interesting insights.

For as much as you’ve discussed Stoicism on your blog, I’m surprised to have never seen Honore’ de Balzac’s works discussed here. In my view, he was to fiction what Seneca was to practical philosophy….someone who had a keen sense for life’s triumphs and defeats, and really powerful insights for taking them in stride. Wealth and poverty…love and hate…friendship and betrayal…it’s all there, and it’s all massively entertaining, too. I personally recommend Lost Illusions and Father Goriot….as well as his short story “The Atheist’s Mass,” which can be read in under half an hour.

Aside from that, Balzac himself was a fascinating character….and his massive caffeine-fueled output (90+ books during his 50-year lifespan) ups the ante for even the most committed 4HWW reader!

Thanks for the book rec’s….I look forward to seeing what everyone else has to say!

Musashi is fantastic. Bought it in Narita airport, got diverted to Minsk (and delayed overnight) on my way home from Japan, read nearly all of it in one sitting.

As well as the things Tim mentions, there’s a great quote that Joe Rogan is a fan of repeating during UFCs: ‘If you know the way in one thing, you can see the way in all things.’ Basically, because Musashi is so awesome at swordfighting, he can apply the learning techniques he’s assembled to everything from flower arranging to the tea ceremony. AWESOME.

Here are my favs (not in order, but theme is in parentheses):
The Door into Summer (time travel)
Starship Troopers (military and war)
Glory Road (sword and dragon fantasy)
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (oppression and revolution)
Job: A Comedy of Justice (satire on religion – loved his depiction of Heaven and Hell)

These are my all-time faves, read them over and over again, should be read in this order:
Time Enough for Love
The Number of the Beast
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
To Sail Beyond the Sunset

Heinlein is the Master. I wrote him once, and his wife sent me a gracious reply. LIbertarian, with highly intelligent, hard working people who love and live to the full. There’s lots of great Heinlein out there(80 novels!) but Job and Sail were, I think, written when he was ill; I’d put them below the rest of the above list. Also strongly recommend Expanded Universe, which is a collection of some of his short stories and non-fiction essays. Half of the people working at NASA and JPL indicated that they are there, doing what they do, because they read Heinlein. Also, be advised that the movie Starship Troopers bears almost no resemblance to Heinlein’s intriguing work of the same name.

A fugitive who escapes prison and embraces the bombay slums, Indian mafia, gun running, fighting, love, and some of the craziest stuff ever…. SHANTARAM by Gregory David Roberts is THE BEST.

It is all based on Gregs real life experiences in India as a fugitive, with some fictional additions for the dialogue, characters, and setting. Greg wrote the book three times (its over 1000 pages) and had it ripped up by prison guards when he was re-captured and taken back to prison.

It is such an amazing book… I bought this on Kindle and read it in about one week. I didn’t even know it was 1000 pages untill I bought it in paperback too. I think Johnny Depp bought the movie rights and they are working on it now..

Niko Kazantzakis wrote Zorba the Greek to compare himself (a writer) to men who lived a less analytic but more zestful life.

Some great Zorba the Greek Quotes:

“Life is trouble. Only death is not. To be alive is to undo your belt and *look* for trouble.”
? Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“There is only one sin god will not forgive Boss, and that is to deny a woman who is in wanting ~ Zorba”
? Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

Alexis Zorba: Damn it boss, I like you too much not to say it. You’ve got everthing except one thing: madness! A man needs a little madness, or else…
Basil: Or else?
Alexis Zorba: …he never dares cut the rope and be free.
? Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“Look, one day I had gone to a little village. An old grandfather of ninety was busy planting an almond tree. ‘What, grandfather!’ I exclaimed. ‘Planting an almond tree?’ And he, bent as he was, turned around and said: ‘My son, I carry on as if I should never die.’ I replied: ‘And I carry on as if I was going to die any minute.’
Which of us was right, boss?”
? Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

No more fooling around, not in this place. We’ll pull our pants up and make a pile of money.
? Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

Zorba: Why do the young die? Why does anybody die?
Basil: I don’t know.
Zorba: What’s the use of all your damn books if they can’t answer that?
Basil: They tell me about the agony of men who can’t answer questions like yours.
Zorba: I spit on this agony!
? Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

Am I not a man? And is a man not stupid? I’m a man, so I married. Wife, children, house, everything. The full catastrophe
? Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

You think too much.That is your trouble.Clever people and grocers, they weigh everything.
? Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

Awesome post! I listen to a lot of audio books (probably the ultimate time saving habbit and where I came across the 4hww). Fiction is generally more effective on audio as you don’t need to manually refer back to fiction like you do non fiction – much better in book format. Also, you must have read Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson…Epic!

Thank you for throwing in the Vonnegut reference. If we’re speaking sci-fi, he offers some great humorous yet seriously socially critical pieces of work. Check out Cat’s Cradle, Player Piano, and Slaughterhouse 5 mentioned above.

Also, for those having a difficult time connecting to more intimate roots in a time that doesn’t necessarily lend itself best to them, “Love in a Time of Cholera” by Gabriela Garcia Marquez is a must-read. Besides being a great piece of writing, you can feel the passion exuded by the characters on every page.

Also, unfortunate that nobody has mentioned Hemingway. If you can get past his machismo characters, he truly is one of the greatest fictional writers of the 20th century. Although many of his novels revolve around his own travels, they are fictional. “The Sun Also Rises” is absolutely recommended for anyone traveling or living far from home.

Let me first say 42, and I know where my towel is. I’ve read about half the list, more if you count the times I have tried to read Dune. The first part is like the book in the Bible that is full of “So and so begat so and so, who begat so and so”. I’ve heard the rest is brilliant, just couldn’t get past it.